Guild Wars 2

I have been reading the SPvP threads where other classes are talking about how to “spot the real Mesmer” as the key to winning.

I want this thread to talk about the best ways to prevent them from spotting you.

If you use an offhand weapon, it does NOT appear on your clones…and the others classes use that sign to detect you easily.

For that reason I use a staff only when I want to hide as my strategy. That way my clones and I look alike.

I use the warden phantasm, and I try to get conditions on my target with the chaos storm because as you may know, the warden does 10% MORE damage for each condition on the target.

Note that if you have two phantasms out there, then you can only have one decoy clone. It’s a 50/50 chance that they will spot you, because the phantasm look entirely different than you do.

I also try to act like a clone: no dodging and rolling. Just stand there and repeatedly fire an autoattack. Even when they get near, don’t panic and run…just stand there firing. And stand near the clones, not way in the back. The other players look in the back for you standing there.

It’s really hard to just stand there when they get close to you…but I have had that stillness save me as well, even though they were close. Resist the urge to dodge until they actually hit you.

If they start hitting you, then dodge roll and pop the Decoy skill – it will remove the target off you.

If possible, try to be behind something within 3 seconds when you appear again: they detect the black smoke swirl where you appear, and the good players look for it!

Another tactic is to have a portal ready to retreat fast if they start attacking you. Of course, you can only fight less than a minute before the return portal spot evaporates. But it’s one way to get way FAST.

— Also, I find that if I play with the battle sounds off, I get less nervous and feel less threatened by the players and I can think more clearly and I can stand there calmly, more easily.

What other things work for you?

Dont move and dont use any attack other then auto attack

Thats about all you can do

ArmageddonAsh.6430:

Dont move and dont use any attack other then auto attack

Thats about all you can do

Well, don’t use an offhand. Your clones won’t have it.

Yeah that as well, so basically either Staff or kitten yourself and not use a off hand thanks to the bug that STILL hasnt been fixed.

Hmmm I don’t really think it’s worth it to try to “blend in” with your clone when the enemy player will just kill your clone in one or two hits anyway.

I would say a good tactic is just to make it so the enemy literally cannot see you for a brief amount of time but can see your clone. They may get confused and think it’s you because, in their mind, there is no other option. You could veil and invis, or blink behind them.

a good combo could be to use Mirror Images and then Decoy right after – 3 clones and invisibility for like 3 seconds

This is currently very tough:
1, your clones attack slower than you do
2, if using a staff, the attacks from the clones don’t bounce
3, on some occasions, when your health isn’t full, clones will still spawn with full health
4, abilities which create clones without stealth do not break the enemy’s targeting
5, if clones need to run closer to a target, they’ll usually follow the very same specific, predictable path
6, when downed, a giant red arrow remains above the real Mesmer even if clones exist
7, clones never mimic spell activation effects, not even instant ones, nor do they mimic conditions (so if someone poisons you, they can look for the poison tag for example)

Nevertheless, there are a few precious seconds after you create a clone where the enemy must still find you. In the midst of battle, it can get very confusing – even if only for a couple seconds. My advice, therefore, is to create clones as fast and often as possible while shattering them just as often for maximum usage of the F1-4 skills while visually confusing the enemy at every turn. If still you feel like they’re tagging you (Ctrl+T), stealth skills will help as they do break their targeting.

I find trying to mix in with the clones is just a bad idea. I can beat bad players without needing to hide in my clones. And, if I run into any half-way decent player, the first thing they do is Ctrl+T me, which means mixing in with the clones is impossible – they pretty much know where I am, and if I stand still I’m just asking to get smashed.

Yeah, maybe they didn’t Ctrl+T me, but it’s pretty much never worth standing still, taking the risk and finding out.

I find it’s better to just assume any player you run into is good enough enough to use Crtl+T rather than assuming players are bad and then getting stomped.

As others already have mentioned, it’s less about blending in with the clones, but distracting your opponent for a few seconds to prepare your next move and letting them waste skills on your clones. It’s all about being a few steps ahead.

ArmageddonAsh.6430:

Dont move and dont use any attack other then auto attack

Thats about all you can do

Basically this, play like a bad and act like your clones. Your clones aren’t smart enough to feel like a player but you can act like AI. Barrel rolling left and right gives you away instantly, so does excessive fidgeting of your feet.

Of course, this doesn’t apply if they obviously are going straight for you.

You cannot hide if opponent pays attention. There is bar above your char with hp. Clones are always full, mesmer rarely so.

Keep in mind that if they target u via the ui feature, every cloaking ability will break this, so safe your cloaks and decoy, until they spot u and attack u. Also max. toughness combined with the cripple feat, will make your clones much more annoying. Thats because clones will last 2-4 hits and most ae abilities wont completely kill them. This means instead of 3 dead clones, u still have 3 clones out that are at 10-20% HP, making them viable targets, which than cripple for maximum annoyance.

Like noted, the key is to perma recreate clones + stealth, so they need those 1-3 seconds to search for u, while they might auto attack clones and trigger conditions/cripple. Also try to get in there “dead” view spot, so that they see clones in front of them, while u try to get behind or out of the view.

Tips to staying Stealthed In Plain Sight:

1. Always combo your clone generation. It’s much easier for your opponent to discern “you versus clone” when you “just do a clone”. So summon 2 with different abilities. E.g. roll forwards with Deceptive Evasion, and hit Phase Retreat as you finish your roll. This will place you back at the original clone spot-ish, while the enemy watched your “dodge roll”. This will often lead them to attack your forward clone (the one generated with Phase Retreat).

Another combo example is using iLeap on an opponent, then using Decoy then Swap. They would have to understand the mechanics of Swap and realize that that is what you used, or else they will likely attack the Decoy clone.

2. Use Line of Sight. A shell game with your clones only lasts so long — against good opponents, a very short time. So you abuse line of sight to reset the game. LOS is best abused by using:

- terrain, duh
- drop a clone and Blink behind (through) your target; they fall for it every time
- in a melee frenzy, drop some clones and then use iLeap -> Swap (but stagger it)

Remember, when the opponent turns around, they have to re-assess which targets are clones and which is you. This is why rapid clone generation in near-melee range can be brutal. As long as you don’t smashed by AOE, you can make it very, very hard for your opponent to get a clean target on you.

3. Stop and move, stop and move. Short controlled bursts. Every time you insert some form of real deception attempt (either #1 or #2), stop for a moment and play dumb with autoattacks. By a moment, I mean literally only 0.5-3 seconds, depending on how badly the enemy’s getting trolled. Ideally, you’ve blown some cooldowns so there’s nothing particularly awesome that you’re delaying by throwing some 11111.

Never go Full Clone.

Anyways, when you move, move big with a lot of stuff. The gig’s up so use your abilities and don’t hesitate. Then finish with a deception and play Clone again. Stop and go, stop and go.

@EasymodeX I do the #3 all the time! Standing around and doing 1111111 and the enemy would think one of the clones would be you. If they catch me though, I just drop stealth, roll and act like a clone somewhere else. People get so mad sometimes

The best way is to stealth, prestige, veil, and decoy all do this because you lose target. After you appear back you can get away with a few auto attacks, good enough to turn the tide in your favor.

The problem i am having is that when creating clones with Greatsword they spawn on the target when a Greatsword is a ranged weapon so it makes me easy to see as many players know that Mesmer’s with a Greatsword has to stand far away for max damage.

AnubisXy.5713:

I find trying to mix in with the clones is just a bad idea. I can beat bad players without needing to hide in my clones. And, if I run into any half-way decent player, the first thing they do is Ctrl+T me, which means mixing in with the clones is impossible – they pretty much know where I am, and if I stand still I’m just asking to get smashed.

Yeah, maybe they didn’t Ctrl+T me, but it’s pretty much never worth standing still, taking the risk and finding out.

I find it’s better to just assume any player you run into is good enough enough to use Crtl+T rather than assuming players are bad and then getting stomped.

That’s what Decoy is for. It eliminates the targeting for a while. And if you pop up where they don’t notice, it may take a while for anyone to discover your real identity.

Ya I dont try to act like my clones often, but I do sometimes when my hp is low. It good for giving you a good 10 secs to heal a lot of the time if done right.

The GS is designed for offensive clone use… shatters and such…

the staff is designed to trick people.. I think the GS statistically tends to be a little stronger than the Staff, but as far as real fights, I always tend to last longer with a staff (which in the end makes me do better overall)

Just my own recent experience- nothing stated for fact.

PIck either/both Confusing Combatants (Duelling 25) or/and Debilitating Dissipation (Chaos V). That makes your illusions explode upon death rather than just fade away/disappear.

Serious business.

I found this great little focus that looks like a stick with 4 ribbons tied to it. It is TINY and with the big flowing dress and other mesmer gear it is practically invisible. I found that once I switched to using this focus people had a much harder time figuring out which one was the real me.